HallOfSportzPod – The Undefeated Steelers
November 25, 2020
Years from now baseball fans will look at this offseason as the crossroads for the Chicago White Sox. Is this the year they made the correct moves to win championships or did they blow their best shot in a generation.
The organization has already made a huge move by signing the third oldest manager in baseball history and the second skipper to manage a game after being elected to the Hall of Fame in Tony La Russa.
That decision will either go down as the best or worst decision by Team Owner Jerry Reinsdorf. And, make no mistake this was Reinsdorf’s call. General manager Rick Hahn comments when La Russa was introduced as the new manager made it obvious.
The firebombs thrown at Reinsdorf were hot enough when La Russa was hired, now the Chicago billionaire is getting more heat with news that his man was charged for driving under the influence and the Sox knew about it before the hire.
The White Sox have been tight-lipped since the news spilled about the La Russa arrest. But, they did release a statement a few days after the news:
“As Tony La Russa’s attorney said in his statement, Tony deserves all the assumptions and protections granted to everyone in a court of law, especially while this is a pending matter. Once his case reaches resolution in the courts, we will have more to say. The White Sox understand the seriousness of these charges.”
So, the La Russa hiring has not started well. But, it could end well. Most important aspect is to judge this hire by the line of work to come.
A Look At 2020
Let’s go back and review the previous season to add context to what is to come this offseason. Rick Renteria, who would finish second in the manager of the year voting, led the Sox to the playoffs as a wildcard team, but was bounced in the first round. Throughout the shortened season, Renteria was called out for questionable lineups, and pitching moves.
Even Steve Stone, the White Sox broadcaster was flummoxed by Renteria’s moves. In late September the Sox blew a 4-1 lead to the Cleveland Indiana when the then-manager brought in Carlos Rodon in a key moment of the game and the season. Rodon was coming off injury, had not pitched in six weeks, and most observers expressed doubt the starter could be effective in a high pressure-moment. He wasn’t.
Make no mistake, Renteria made his share of mistakes. But, it can’t be argued that the players responded well to his leadership style.
On the day Rick Hahn met the media to discuss the Renteria firing he said, “When ultimately we get to where we want to go in terms of winning championships, I suspect Ricky Renteria’s fingerprints will be all over that club and a big part of that success will be due to him.”
The individual performances of veterans like Jose Abreu, named American League Most Valuable Player, and rookies like Luis Robert, who finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting, are examples. The honors for the players are adding up.
There have not been any honors bestowed on White Sox pitchers, but that doesn’t mean there were not many bright spots. Dallas Keuchel finished fifth in American League Cy Young Award voting and Lucas Giolito was seventh. Giolito and Keuchel combined went 10-5 W-L record with a 2.74 ERA and 139Ks. On August 25th, Giolito tossed a complete game no-hitter verse the Pittsburgh Pirates and he became the first pitcher in White Sox history with at least 10 strikeouts not to mention was also the first in history with consecutive scoreless outings with at least 13Ks. Keuchel’s 1.99 ERA was second in the AL and compiled the first qualified sub-two ERA by a White Sox pitcher since Wilbur Wood’s 1.91 ERA in 1971. In addition, Keuchel held opponents scoreless in both the first and second innings all season. Besides Michael Kopech sitting out the season, the team had progression from the young arms of Dylan Cease and Dane Dunning that combined went 7-4 W-L record with a 3.99 ERA and 79Ks. The Chicago White Sox had a top five bullpen in the AL that was lead by Closer Alex Colome that went 2-0 with an 0.81 ERA and 12 of 13 save opportunities this past season. Rookie lefty Garrett Crochet has game-changing stuff as he was second in the MLB with 45 pitches of 100+MPH thrown during 6 innings of work. At the end of the season, Don Cooper had departed after 18 years with the organization and had developed names from Mark Buehrle to Jon Garland, and Chris Sale. Cooper was a one of a kind talent, but perhaps change is needed after a long tenure with the organization. The Chicago White Sox have hired Ethan Katz as the next pitching coach for Tony La Russa. Katz was previously the assistant pitching coach to the San Francisco Giants and former high school coach to Giolito, which he also developed standouts Max Fried and Jack Flaherty.
Looking Ahead To 2021
Rick Hahn will have to come up with solutions to three key areas on the roster:
- Improve a pitching staff
- Find a starting right fielder
- Add a DH
There has already been a couple roster moves as well as Baltimore has claimed Yolmer Sanchez from waivers and the White Sox have declined the club options of $12 MM on Edwin Encarnacion with $7MM on Gio Gonzalez as well and non-tendered both RF Nomar Mazara and LHP Carlos Rodon, while the team tendered LHP Jace Fry which leaves the Chicago White Sox total payroll at $102,912,499. The Chicago White Sox had a total payroll of $127,318,642 in 2020 and means that the team cleared nearly $24 MM, while things are up in the air with the virus it will be interesting to see how much the owner is willing to spend to win championships, but the Tony La Russa move may indicate that he will do whatever it takes to go for more rings.
Let’s have some fun now!
I’m going to offer some speculation moves, as well with how the roster could shape up for next season in 2021. First of all, the White Sox stay in house to fill the DH role by bringing up #3 overall draft pick of the 2019 draft Andrew Vaughn, who will likely be the DH as well as rotate with Abreu at 1B. Also, it is in the best interest of the team to resign James McCann and let Alex Colome test free agency as the team can get draft compensation for him. Next, lets focus on the pitching staff where I would like the team to aggressively pursue two options. The tier 1 move is to sign RHP Trevor Bauer that is the best starting pitcher available on the market and Bauer led the NL with a 1.73 ERA for the Reds. In addition, the tier 2 move is to sign the previous AL All-Star RHP Blake Treinen as a setup man in the bullpen. Finally, the last move is the focus of right field and most fans would want to pursue some big names on the market, but I would like Hahn to make a trade for this spot and save money by calling the New York Mets. The White Sox make a deal for Outfielder and former #10th pick of the 2014 draft Michael Conforto that brings a $11MM option! Conforto in the past three years has averaged .274 BA, 23 HR, and 68 RBIs to go along with a solid glove.
My 2021 roster breakdown is as follows of a 25 man roster: Pitchers(13)- Aaron Bummer, Dylan Cease, Garrett Crotchet, Dane Dunning, Matt Foster, Lucas Giolito, Codi Heuer, Dallas Keuchel, Michael Kopech, Evan Marshall, Jace Fry, Trevor Baur, and Blake Treinen. Position Players(12): Catchers- Yasmani Grandal and James McCann. Infielders- Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, Nick Madrigal, Yoan Moncada. Outfielders- Adam Engel, Leury Garcia, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, and Michael Conforto. Designated Hitter- Andrew Vaughn.
This roster would be one on paper with the proper manager could bring success for years to come! Can Tony La Russa develop the young core players and adapt to the culture? What surprises will come true or be true to my speculation? Free agency has just started this month and the winter meetings are a few weeks away. Tune in with me and the Barroom Network, as the Chicago White Sox will be covered all offseason! If you missed my previous articles or the live video of Talking Tony, don’t worry you can find all right here on the site or the Barroom Network YouTube Channel. Lets Go White Sox!
